Celebrating Winter | some christmas poems

"i bet He danced"

i bet He danced.
at weddings, celebrations—
with His mother, His sisters,
probably mary and martha, too.

i bet He laughed.
at the jokes, or when He was little
and joseph tickled Him—
or just for the joy of laughing.

i bet He sang.
someone as beautiful
as the Son of God would've
sung His praises loudly.

i bet He watched.
watched as the world He
came to save accepted Him,
but then refused Him.

i bet He gazed at the stars.
every one a person, a beautiful person.
all of our names, so, so precious,
glittering in the sky for Him.

and when He was on that cross,
oh, i bet He looked up, because He knew.
He knew that soon, so soon,
He'll be reunited with His stars.

and we'll shine brightly and beautifully,
together.



"He saves us all"

as the bright moon sets slowly

beyond the far off mountains,
a star shines brightly.
snowflakes gently swirl,
trees sway in the wind,
and the angels sing.

a royal Prince, born to die,
is welcomed by the angels
who sing their praises.
shepherds humbly bow
before their mighty King.
oh, beautiful night!

bethlehem, oh little town,
follow the star up above,
and find your new King.
he’s sleeping soundly,
laying in a manger,
dreaming of His task.

a hard and difficult life
of assisting His Father
save this broken world.
dying for our sins,
to rise after three days,
from the depths of hell.

praise the mighty King of kings!
He’s saved us from Satan’s hands.
He has persevered.
oh, wonderful day!
praise Him in everything,
for He saves us all.

Merry Christmas, everybody. ♥

Rebekah

Celebrating Winter | Christmas

There's something beautiful about sitting under your Christmas tree, all alone, lights on and reflecting off the ornaments. You've got an Advent devotional in your lap and openness in your heart. You read, practically breathing in her words. God's love climbs down from a ladder, all the way to earth and straight into your soul. His hand takes yours, and you smile.
You read, child of God, and gently unfold the wrappings around this Christmas—hopefully better than last year, but hopefully not as good as next year. Your mind relaxes into the grace God gave you. Your spirits lift as you prepare yourself for December 25th and celebrating Jesus and showing His crazy love.
Remember that. Christmas is about God showing us his love. His crazy, crazy love.

Rebekah

Celebrating Winter | Christmas Playlist

There's something about music that nudges my soul into the cold air until up, up it goes, soaring with the birds and snowflakes and clouds. And then there's Christmas music. Soft, gentle. A reminder of God's arms caressing me. So how about some lovely Christmas songs? Here are a few of my favorites.

Star of Wonder // JJ Heller

Christmas Lights // Coldplay

You're Here  // Francesca Battistelli

Do you Hear What I Hear // Flyleaf

O Come Emmanuel // Folk Angel

Oh Holy Night // Future of Forestry

Joseph's Lullaby // Michael Crawford

Celtic Carol // Lindsay Sterling

Cradle in Bethlehem // Sleeping at Last

Dreams are More Precious // Enya

The First Noel // Future of Forestry

Rebekah

Celebrating Winter | Peppermint Sugar Scrub

This scrub. Guys, this scrub. One of my friends gave it to me as a gift a while back, and oooooooh my goodness. It makes your hands feel so smooth. Just . . . it's amazing.
The recipe is from The Frugal Girls, right here.
This is a really simple recipe. Just three (or four) ingredients, not a lot to do, but you get some amazingness out of it.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 cup sugar
10 drops peppermint essential oil
Red food coloring (optional)

Instructions:
1. Microwave 1/2 cup coconut oil until melted (approx. 45 seconds)
2. Pour coconut oil and sugar into a small mixing bowl and mix well.
3. Add peppermint oil and mix well again.
4. (Optional) Separate the scrub so half is in one bowl, and half is in another bowl. Add food coloring (one drop is enough) to one bowl and mix well again. When you pour it into your storage containers, you can do layers of pink and white.
5. Pour into jars (personally, I think the more shallow the jar, the better.

The scrub will be runny until it cools down. Coconut oil is like butter in the sense that when it's hot, it melts, but it will solidify when it cools.

How to use:
Use around a teaspoon and wash your hands with it, as if the scrub was soap. Dry well with a towel.

Rebekah

Celebrating Winter | Let's Go

Winter. Cold. Gray. Dreary. Wet. Not fun.
Right?
But not always. There are certain parts of winter, the parts I want to talk about, that make it worth celebrating. It stretches like a morning and dances like a light waltz.
God created the cold and the snow and the usually dark skies for reasons. Many reasons, I think. And I do believe we should explore them.
So grab your boots, a coat, and your adventuring spirit. Let's go explore winter.

Rebekah

(This is a series I'm doing this winter to help us all enjoy the winter dances and songs God has given us. Enjoy.)

A Little Thought

He has given me the power to be joyful.

How can I deny that?

Rebekah

Maybe I should just shut up.

I keep telling God that I feel sad and that I don't understand and that his death might give me something to look forward to but right now sucks.
But then I think I should just shut up because somewhere, he's whispering his grace to me. His forgiveness encircles the mess I've become and the mess I've made. And somehow I'll become a blossoming rose instead of an ugly thorn. Somehow.
Sometimes life just doesn't feel very nice, and when that happens, I have a tendency to hurt myself. My wrists bleed from the harsh things I snap at myself. Bruises decorate my neck from where I've strangled all of the good thoughts until they withered away.
But his grace is always there, whispering, waiting.
So here's to shutting up and listening.

Rebekah